The blog for Lone Star linksters - news and notes from the world of Texas Golf.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

STPGA Selects Joe Black Cup Captain

From the STPGA:

Jeff Strong, the head PGA golf professional and general manager at Eagle Pointe Golf Club in Mont Belvieu, has been named Captain of the 2009 Southern Texas PGA Texas Joe Black Cup Matches team.

The 2009 Texas Joe Black Cup Matches will be hosted by the Southern Texas PGA on Oct. 26-27 at Miramont Country Club in Bryan. The Ryder Cup-style tournament began in 1981 and pits a team of Southern Texas PGA Professionals against a team of Professionals from the Northern Texas PGA. The event is named in honor of Joe Black, a native of Snyder, Texas, who was then serving as president of the PGA of America. Black is currently living near Austin.

The Nothern Texas PGA won the 2008 Texas Joe Black Cup Matches at Lufkin’s Crown Colony Country Club by a 14-1/2 to 9-1/2 point margin, and holds a 14-13-1 overall lead in the series.

“It’s a real honor to be named Captain of the Southern Texas PGA team, “ said Strong. “It would mean a lot to me and to the STPGA to win. We all want the STPGA to be known as the best Section in the PGA of America, and winning the Texas Joe Black Cup Matches is part of that.”

“There are many excellent golfers in our Section, so I know our team will be capable of winning,” added Strong. “The home team always has a little bit of an advantage in the matches because its members know the course a little better than the visitors. But the NTPGA will have a good team, so we’ll just let our play do our talking.”

Strong, who has been at Eagle Pointe since 1999, has been a member of the PGA of America since 1996. He served as Chairman of the Southern Texas PGA’s Tournament Committee in 2007 and 2008, and was the STPGA’s Bill Strausbaugh Award winner (in recognition special effort toward club relations and building the image of the game of golf and the golf professional) for 2008 He was also the STPGA Merchandiser of the Year for Public Facilities in 2008, an honor he had previously earned in 2005. He was also the 2007 STPGA Eastern Chapter Golf Professional of the Year.

The two teams in the Texas Joe Black Cup Matches consist of nine professionals who win spots on the teams through year-long “points” competitions, a senior representative, the respective Section president ands a Captains’ pick on both sides. The makeup of both teams will be determined following the completion of the respective Section Professional Championships.